It’s often said, “Learn to trust the journey even when you do not understand it.”

 

Thankfully, I didn’t encounter that quote until after college. At SCAD, we were trained to reflect critically on every project, asking: What went wrong? What worked? What can we learn from both?

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Forming this reflection habit later allowed me to view my unconventional career path through different eyes.

 

Challenges

My "career" effectively started when I dropped out of high school. It was a forced decision—I was bullied and couldn't find support from teachers or the administration. For many years afterward, I carried shame, until I realized that self-preservation is a powerful instinct and nothing to be ashamed of.

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Dropping out meant entering the workforce full-time at 16 with no clue what I was doing or how the world worked. I found work in grocery stores, video stores, restaurants, kitchens, office janitorial, etc. This was a profound time for learning about human workplace behaviors.

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The Turning Point

Everything changed when I took a job in a nail polish factory. Factory work can make you feel invisible—there’s lots of finger-snapping and impersonal calls of "Hey you!" Because the tasks weren't particularly stimulating, there was plenty of time to think.

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One day, standing at a conveyor belt feeling incredibly small, a realization struck me like a bolt of lightning:

 

“This can’t be the whole story—he worked in a factory, and that's it?”

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At that exact moment, the company logo I'd seen thousands of times—a clip-art bottle with eyeballs and legs—caught my eye. I thought, “I bet I could make that look better. I've always been creative. Could that be a job?”

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Within months, I had earned my high school equivalency and enrolled in design college.

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Gratitude for Every Step

Although my journey might be unconventional, I'm grateful for every moment. I know firsthand what it's like to feel invisible—a feeling you never truly forget. I've also experienced praise and awards. Neither defines who I am.

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Both success and struggle inform how I approach my work: with empathy, creativity, humility, and sound ethics.

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Simply trust the journey.